Turner : The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J. M. W. Turner

The extraordinary life of J. M. W Turner, one of Britain's most admired, misunderstood and celebrated artists

J.M.W. Turner is Britain's most famous landscape painter.

Yet beyond his artistic achievements, little is known of the man himself and the events of his life: the tragic committal of his mother to a lunatic asylum, the personal sacrifices he made to effect his stratospheric rise, and the bizarre double life he chose to lead in the last years of his life. A near mythical figure in his own lifetime, Franny Moyle tells the story of the man who was considered visionary at best and ludicrous at worst. A resolute adventurer, he found new ways of revealing Britain to the British, astounding his audience with his invention and intelligence.

Set against the backdrop of the finest homes in Britain, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, this is an astonishing portrait of one of the most important figures in Western art and a vivid evocation of Britain and Europe in flux.

Details

• Author: Franny Moyle
• Paperback: 528 pages | 24 colour and 16 black and white illustrations
• Publication date: May 2017
• ISBN: 978-0241964569
• Language: English
• Dimensions: 19.6 x 13.1 cm

Reviews

'Moyle's superb biography rigorously tackles the myths surrounding Turner's life and presents a vivid portrait of a man whose ideas and behaviour were rooted in the 18th century - and whose work is too often taken out of context' - Mail on Sunday

'An exemplary work... Moyle explores the whole of his long life, expertly charting the artist's development from his precocious conquering of the Royal Academy to his late, experimental paintings.

Moyle is especially good at delineating Turner's artistic methods and her enthralling account is filled with an impressive understanding of his unique talent.'  - Sunday Times

'A thorough, balanced and wonderfully fluent account. Franny Moyle [is] one of the best in the long line of [Turner's] biographers' - The Times

'Moyle is an unpretentious art historian, and she has written an inviting and easily digested biography of the best of British painters' - The Economist